Out of the Frying Pan ...

... and into the fire?

Gawd, I hope not ... but once again I'm staying out of it.

Fasten your seatbelts, here we go ...

Got a call from Alien just a bit ago. Didn't blog it at first because I'm trying to figure out exactly what the whole conversation was. She was upset but tried to tell me everything that was happening while barely coming up for a breath!

Loser is out of her life. Yay!! As I'm typing this, he's sitting in the jail just up the street from my house. Nice. He's a neighbor, LOL.

The non-LOL part is that he beat the crap out of my Alien last night.

His best friend was over, now former best friend, as he came to Alien's rescue and defended her, freeing her to call the police.

Loser's a repeat offender, so he'll be there for a while. A month at least. Serves him right.

I'm not sure where this part comes in ... before the fight, if it was the fight, or afterwards sometime, but he claims he's signing off all rights to his son, Butterball. Oh, please, let that be the truth. Let him sign off all rights and any future contact with Alien, Butterball and the little one she's pregnant with.

However, the "into the fire" part ... Alien tells me how wonderful this former best friend of the Loser is, and that he's stepping up to take care of her and the baby (and the one on the way). Both of my sons have met this guy and say he's definitely a step up from the Loser.

I've come to realize that she really is co-dependant ... on about anyone who will allow her to be dependant on them. Sad ... but I can't be worrying about it.

She made her bed, and she has to lay in it now.

It took my mother 78 years to learn to say "I can't solve the worlds problems, nor can I solve yours" and step away. I saw the stress it put her through to worry about things she couldn't control. I sure can't be worrying about things I have no control over. Like an adult Alien.

I just pray this guy really is good for her, and Butterball and my future grandchild.

Funny I should say I can't solve the problems of my kids ... we know what I do for my sons already. Sad that I could have been more of a positive part of Aliens life had she not rebelled and fought everything I tried to do for her ... or what crap Bubba made her believe - that I was mean (read strict) and wouldn't grant her every wish (right, Princess wishes take money - something that even if I had in abundance, I wouldn't grant her - she needs to learn financial responsibility among other responsibilities).

Ah well, that's all water under the bridge.

Hopefully this is one positive baby-step in her life.

Happy Friday

Wow, it's been three whole days since I've blogged. Can you believe it? LOL.

And quiet days they've been! Grandson left for camping yesterday, but spent the night before they left at his Popa and Nani's house. DIL has barely been around since then, thanks to a Nani who really doesn't like being alone when her hubby and Grandson are gone. DIL and Married Son will come home to sleep, so the end of my day isn't exactly quiet. Ah well, at least the days are.

And, get this ... DIL has figured out the whole dish thing. Seems she's realized that doing their dishes (and an occasional dish of mine) immediately after the meal is soooo much easier to keep ahead of then doing them only when they overflow from the dishpan. I know, amazing isn't it? And that she's even done a dish or two of mine without griping about it.

I'm impressed.

I'm still working on my sanctuary. I decided that while I was at it, I'd do some deep cleaning (closet, dresser, bookcase). I got in over my head, but it's been worth it. Then again, it's needed to be done for a while now.

I used to laugh at those people that said they went clothes shopping in their own closets. But know I really understand. My goodness, I found a whole wardrobe that I'd totally forgotten about ... pushed in the back of the closet.

I even found some sweaters from the 80s, no kidding! They no longer fit, plus they're way out of style, so they'll be donated to a vintage clothing store in the next town over.

I got call from Aunt Normal today saying she's dropping the search for her ancestor for the summer. She said it's way too hot to be going all the way to Port Huron to search records. Um, nope ... it's perfect weather. After all, Port Huron is a pretty modern place, they even have indoor plumbing and ee-lec-tricity. Oy ... I mean, this isn't the mid-1800s for pete's sake. And I'd rather do the search now ... being a waterside town it's always ten degrees cooler at least, and with a constant breeze. She said she'd resume in the fall, when it's going to be chilly as hell (okay, only a Michigander would say cold as Hell - and only a Michigander - or Amy - would understand the humor behind that ... hehehehe). As much as I love the colder weather and the City of Port Huron ... I don't look forward to freezing my buns off, and yes, spring, summer, winter or fall, if I'm in Port Huron I stop at my favorite park.

But then, my Mom doesn't want me to do any more of the family search for Aunt Normal. I know, since when do I actually listen to my mom? The deal was to find out about the one ancestor, and I'm sticking to my end of it.

Guess I should go. I just got the new Fall and Winter catalogs for the products I sell in today's mail. Been going over them ... I'm contemplating trying out Facebook Market, maybe even Multiply's market ... see if I can broaden my customer base there.

Tuesday ...

And it's been a pretty quiet day. Then again, the three noise makers have been gone most of the day.

Spent part of the morning on Farmville, working coops that I had to harvest. Grandson wanted to help, but I told him that I didn't think it was fair that he could play my games and not give me a little goodnight kiss (he did that last night). Before I could say anything else, DIL pipes in with "See, I told you Son, you have to be nice if you want to play with Gramma."

I had an errand to run, so that got me out of the house while they were here. Got back to find the house empty, minus Single Son. But we hardly see him anyway, locked up in his room working his one office job.

From her facebook, I see that DIL took Grandson to the park, then to her parents after so she could work.

Well, we have the babysitting issued resolved. She finally figured that one out!

And of course when Married Son and Grandson got home all hell broke loose once again. Barely in the door, he's got his hands all over stuff. I had asked Grandson not to touch something, he did, Son ended up sending him straight to bed. But since it was after 11 PM when they got home, he should have been in bed anyway. Oh wait, bedtimes were MY rule. Seems that they don't have a bedtime for him, that it's after midnight most nights when he goes to bed. I don't envy her the job of trying to get him on a school schedule come the fall. He's gonna be one sleepy kindergartener!

So, it's been quiet again.

Tomorrow Grandson goes camping for four days with his Popa. My only regret is that DIL isn't going. I could use four days of quiet.

I was going to go to Port Huron tomorrow to see if I can find out about this cousin's great- great grandmother. Or was it just one great? I don't remember, lol. Anyway ... I was going to go but between the storms that are forecast for tomorrow and the fact I can't seem to find the registration and proof of insurance for my car ... well, that's tomorrow's priority now. I guess Port Huron will wait until Friday.

And how did I discover the papers are missing on my car? I didn't. Single Son did. And how, pray tell did he discover this? Well... Single Son ... the resident cop, got pulled over by the cops for speeding today!! Yes, even cops break traffic laws. He couldn't find the paperwork, but since he was pulled over by a county deputy with an obvious sense of humor he was let off without a ticket (lucky him). However, he had to tell the deputy who owned the car. He went through about four names before he got it right (he didn't know my dad owns it, lol). And having the deputy check through the police computer system that he is actually a cop didn't hurt either.

I don't have the luxury of being in a cop computer system as a fellow officer, and they don't keep records on cop moms, so I need to find those papers.

Odd thing is ... they were in the car last I saw them. I know, you're not supposed to keep them in your car, but in your wallet ... but it's easier than passing them to Single Son every time he borrows my car. Technically we're sharing my car now, so it got to be a huge pain in the behind ... so, in the car they went.

And I get to be the one to look for them. Because he can't seem to find anything ... For someone who can be at a crime-scene and not miss a detail, at home he notices nothing. Why is that?

Word for the week ... CONSISTENT

One thing I'm noticing more and more as the days go by, there is absolutely no consistency in the way she handles Grandson. Married Son is much more consistent, but he let's her over-ride him. Maybe not let's, more like tolerates. Or hasn't the balls to speak up.

A good case in point is the way this child eats. All he wants is cereal for breakfast, lunch and dinner. An occasional curly fry from her work, but that's about it. When she does get him to eat something different, he takes a few bites, saying he loves it, then a few more bites and decides he hates something. Then the battle begins. Only ... she gives in after a few minutes, lets him get up from the table, the cats get the scraps, and the kid is off doing what he wants. Short time later he comes back saying he's hungry and wants a bowl of cereal. And of course she gives in.

And I see it with everything else he wants too. He puts up a fight for something (toy, pop tarts or sugary snack, other junk), she gives in and gets it for him, and it's never again touched.

She was at work today, so I thought I'd talk to Married Son about it. Now ... this will need a little set-up ... he worked today, too. When he came home he had Grandson with him, and a bag from Arby's (they stopped where DIL works). She gave Grandson a thingie of seasoned curly fries, and put a sandwich in a bag that she wanted me to try (I seem to be the "new sandwich guinea pig", and I love it) ... soooooo ... they get home, put the bag on the table. Grandson grabs the bag, Married Son says "Son, that sandwich is Grandma's, give it to her." "No, I want it." "You can't have it, it's for Grandma". He tightens his grip on it, practically smashing the sandwich. I offer to share it with him, grab the bag, cut the sandwich so he gets about an inch of the six inch hoagie bunned sandwich. Put it on a child's plate (one used by my kids when they were little) and hand it to him. I tell him the story behind the plate, he says his mom gave it to him (standard operating procedure for him, he claims everything is his), takes a few bites of the sandwich. Doing good!! No fight, no whining he doesn't like it. We're doing good. Then ...

DIL walks in from work. And all hell breaks loose. "I don't want this, I don't like it", pushing the plate so hard as to almost knock it off the table. "Eat it" she about screams at him (or is it just her normal high volume yell, I can never tell). Then next fifteen minutes is spent yelling, crying, and otherwise just not touching the food. "Eat it, or you're not going camping with Popa next weekend" ... oh DO NOT threaten that on him, it's a worse punishment than the "crime" calls for ... I would have made him sit there until it was gone ... OR ... just sent him to bed without any more food, and MADE him stay there. But no ...

She coaxes him by taking away the bread, "eat the meat, son" then dividing it on his plate into four fork-sized piles. More fights. More tears. "Stand in the corner if you aren't going to eat." Of course, he fights her on that, too.

In the end, she let him up after only one fork-full. The cats got the rest of the dinner. Hours later he got a bowl of cereal, and a glass of chocolate milk.

And because he's not my kid, I pretty much stay out of it.

I do talk to Married Son about it, and I do discipline him when he's breaking the house rules, but for this I need to shut up.

You can bet no matter how much he begs, whines and cries in the future, Gramma L will not be sharing so much as a crumb with him. Teach him that he won't be the one calling the shots around here. In fact, later he came downstairs (they were up watching movies), saw I was eating a bowl of cherries and of course wanted some. "No way. You aren't getting anything from me anymore. You waste food." He went crying up to his parents. Oh well!

Had he been my child, he'd have been told "you do not leave the table until you eat what's on your plate." And grabbed a book to read while he sat there and ate it all.

Been there, done that. My parents said the same to me, and stuck around to make sure we didn't sneak food to the dog ... I did it when my kids tried the same. I wasn't born yesterday ... I still remember what goes through the mind of a five year old. I'm not that old!

All over a piece of a roast beef sandwich that wasn't an inch long! One I'm sure he would have finished had DIL not come home when she did.

He's still so mad at me for being a mean grandma that he won't kiss me good night. Ah well, I won't lose sleep over being strict and having a kid mad at me.

Aww shit, and now I'm hearing the one year old nephew is going to be here tomorrow because DIL's babysitting. And there's NO where really for a one year old to play around here. And I'm not babyproofing MY house because this will not become a normal occurance. She better be taking them to the park for the entire day, is all I'm gonna say on that.

Today's Lesson ... R E S P E C T

Respect ...

... of one's property, ones possessions, ones rules.

And boy, what a long morning it was!! Started with Grandson about bouncing off the walls (literally). I was in the shower and could hear the noise. Having to get out of the shower, since the two parental units seemed oblivious to the crashing and banging, I put a quick stop to it.

"This is Gramma's house, Grandson. You can't do that here. When your parents find a house just for you guys THEN and only then can you do it. But not here". He tries to tell me that his Nani lets him. Hmmmm, then go to Nani's house and trash her walls!

And yes, I said it loud enough for the parents to hear ... hell, I'm sure the neighbors heard me!

I get back into the shower. At this point it's not to wash up, it's to relax my now tense muscles with hot water.

Coming out of the bathroom, I discover as I'm closing the bathroom door behind me that someone has put three shirt stickers (you know, fairly narrow but real long) on the door knob, totally covering it. "Who did this" was all I had to say. "I did, Gramma". "Clean it up". He comes down the stairs a few minutes later. Asking where he put the sticker (I know better than to not follow up with a pre-schooler) I get "I put it on Mommy's door". "THROW IT AWAY, and clean up these toys while you're at it".

I won't get into the pop-tart crumbs all over the table, floor and chair. However, I did hand a certain grandson the broom and told him to not hit anything as he was sweeping up. Or the little boy who refuses to lift the toilet seat no matter how many reminders he gets from Gramma (Popa doesn't make me lift the seat, Gramma).

Now I'm a mean grandmother. Add that to my recent title of psycho MIL from Hell, and I'm happy!

Success!!

I mean ... I do believe things may finally be sinking in!! Well, maybe sinking in. Hopefully sinking in. I can dream, can't I?

All I ask is that you respect the rules of the house ... my possessions ... and my property.

Is that asking too much?

DIL asked why I was so grumpy. I told her. "You move in thinking that the rules have been changed. They haven't. We had problems last time because you didn't respect the rules. Rules that are very different than your parents rules. Unlike your mother, I won't be your housekeeper, babysitter, gopher or peon. You're to be an active member of this family, even if it means you have do clean up someone else's messes, mostly your husband and son's messes or ... god forbid, do something that you may feel is not your job. And do so without recognition or bitching about it. Grow up ... you are a wife, mother, daughter and daughter in law. You need to start thinking about others."

It's nice to finally be able to speak my mind!! Not an easy thing to learn, but it sure beats being walked all over and sitting quietly as I stress.

Needless to say she left the house for a while. Said she was dropping Grandson off at her mother's so she could come back and get ready for work tonight.

Victory. I'm not even asked anymore if I can watch him for an hour or so.

After about an hour's absence, she's been back here about ten minutes. Slamming of a cupboard door aside (which I hate), she's been rather pleasant. I'm pretty sure she bitched about me to her folks. Her dad's not too bad when it comes to "deal with it, 'cause you ain't moving back here'. Gotta love someone that tells her to "deal with it" since she's stuck with it!

Now if she'd only respect me HALF as much as she seems to respect her folks. When they lived there, she had a list of chores she had to do, regardless of whether she personally created a mess/chore/whatever. DILs Dad wouldn't take "it's not my mess" for an answer. Maybe that's what I need to do? Revive the ol' chore chart - the ones my kids grew up with. Treat her like a kid until she learns to grow up ... show some respect ... and stop the "not me, not my" crap.

Ah, there's an idea!! I took parenting classes during my first divorce (mandated by the county courts). Chore charts, discipline, reward systems, rules ... it was all covered. Great ideas ... and best yet ... they WORKED!

Funny thing is, Married Son, DIL and I were talking just the other night about how strict I was with my kids. Eight o'clock bedtimes (nine o'clock in the summer), meals at set times, chores done after breakfast (on Saturdays or daily in the summer) or they couldn't go play with their little friends, the time-out stair ... oh how I loved that time out system! I only spanked a kid once, and that was out of sheer fear because he'd run into traffic!! But, then again ... I didn't need to spank my kids ... they knew that NO meant NO (and to not ask again), they knew the rules ... they respected the rules and more importantly they respected me! Well, the boys did anyway. Alien was a different story altogether (funny how sperm donors can undermine the mother's authority and screw up all that discipline I tried to instill in her - but that's another blog entirely).

Which I think is what this whole thing boils down to, the lack of respect. Do what you want, when you want ... damn anything that gets in the way (including one mother in law).

Friday Storms

It's eighty-eight degrees outside, humid as all get-out, and the radio keeps beeping with storm watches and warnings ... tornado warnings south of here. It's dark, like it's dusk - but that's still two hours away.

I'm just waiting for the storms!! Yay!! I love a good storm. And no one here to shatter the quiet.

I'm expecting that to change in a bit, but for now I'm so enjoying it. Although, with this storm coming, and DIL absolutely hates driving in the rain so I'm hoping she sits it out at her parents house where she's babysitting her one year old nephew.

Other than that, it's been very quiet around here. Blissfully quiet.

Oooh ... here's the thunder! Yay ... double yay for having a laptop that I can unplug and not have to worry about powering off because of the lightening. However, now the fun begins with Spot. He's a true scaredy cat when it comes to thunder!

I had a laugh this morning. My cousin, Normal's wife called about 9 am this morning. She was polite but tried to tell me they'll be doing their own research from now on. She made it sound like Normal wanted to have some of the "adventure" himself. They'll be going to Port Huron to find what they can. She also told me, finally, just why, at the age of 88 she wants to know about her great grandmother's mother. Hmmmmm ... seems Normal's DIL gave them a family tree (suitable for framing according to my stuffy elderly cousin). There's ONE blank on it, the great grandmother's mother, that she wants filled before she invests in a frame. This is the only reason she even cares? Oy!!

Mom called shortly after I got of the phone with "Aunt Normal" (we call them aunt and uncle because of the age difference - respect sort of thing, you know) ... I barely get "hi Mom" out of my mouth and she's asking me if Aunt Normal has called me yet. Um, yeah, she sure did. Mom then proceeds to blast Aunt Normal and the whole Normal's family tree thing ... great, what a way to start my day. "You know, they don't want you working on it because she thinks you're going to expect another check from her. She's cheap, I tell you ... C H E E P." No, Mom's not the best speller around. Really! Mom asks me to back off. If Aunt Normal is that cheap, she doesn't deserve to know jackshit (and that's Mom's term!). I told Mom I was really intrigued with the whole nautical thing, and three shipwrecks ending in the deaths of three of her ancestors. Mom told me to continue if I'm interested, but to NOT share it with Aunt Normal.

So ... the research will continue, but for my curiosity only. I'll honor Mom's wishes by not sharing diddly with anyone but Mom.

I just think it's hysterical that two octo-generians are acting like kids.

Speaking of kids ... darnit. Guess who just showed up? And with a one year old, too. Grrrrrrr.

This isn't romper room. 

You'd think there's a dozen rug-rats here with the noise level. One adult who has NO volume control is adding to it, too. And she's NOT watching them too closely. I just had to use an empty bookcase as a make-shift baby barrier to keep the one year old and his juicebox away from my carpet.

LOL, I'm turning into a Grumpy Old Woman. Funny, I hear things come out of my mouth that my Dad used to say when my boys were younger ... he was about the same age then as I am now. Oh Lordy, heaven help me. I've turned into my dad!

Now all I need to do is take up beer drinking.

Deep breathe ...

I wonder what I'd without blogging? Would I lose it completely? Or ... find places to bury the bodies?

Probably the latter.

From the time she got up this morning it's been LOUD and she's been lazy.

Married Son wanted a meal while he searched the internet for salvage jobs to do today. After a fight she finally prepares lunch. He finishes ... soaks his dish in the sink. I comment that as long as he's standing there he can take two minutes to wash the freaking things.

Nope. Won't do.

DIL had vanished into their room while he ate. She comes back down the stairs saying she's bored. Married Son said "well, do our dishes then". "You used them, you wash your own freaking dishes. It's not my job. Or I'll drain them and put them on your half of the bed".

Lazy. Lazy. Lazy.

She asks for the dvd player to go back in their bedroom after last night's test drive of the huge screen tv. Says she's bored, there's nothing to do. His response? "I'll put the dvd back after the dishes are done".

An hour has passed and she sits at the table, whining like a baby ... he sits at his computer, ignoring her requests. The dishes are you-know-where.

And I contemplate where I could hide the body.

After I wash the freaking dishes, that is.

Oh What A Beautiful Day!!

What a beautiful day today was!! Sadly it's over, LOL.

Got up a little earlier than normal. Showered, got ready to head out to Port Huron. Only, the cooler I asked Single Son to return was not returned, nor was the car he trashed cleaned out. So hunting down and cleaning out cooler, cleaning car, getting gas and having the air checked in the tires ended up putting me an hour behind schedule.

I decided today was going to be a good day, and refused to let the slow start bother me.

The drive up was nice. An hour and a half, and I took my time. Got to the library to do some research. Oh my!! One of the local historians in Port Huron went through every newspaper from 1876 until 1940 and indexed them, then put them on microfiche film. Then she put the indexes in 4-inch three-ring binders, dividers between each year. It's a fourteen volume set! Papers after that are not indexed, but are on microfiche. What a committed woman she was. Sadly, she died in 2001 according to the memorial page in each and every binder.

I found a wealth of information in those first few binders. The family I'm searching had been in the area way back when. I just spend four hours or so searching the indexes, I have yet to even get to see the microfiche on them!

Needless to say I'm going back next week. And probably the week after, for a few weeks at least.

I called my cousin afterwards, really excited at some of my finds. She was excited but told me not to "kill myself with all this hard work". Hard work? I'm enjoying the heck out of this! Although, sitting on wooden chairs for hours on end did numb my behind. I have to remember to take stretch breaks next week! LOL!!

After the library I went to my favorite park. Did some ship watching, fed the squirrels. They loved the oyster crackers I brought with me. But their favorite seemed to be the Combos I brought ... pizzeria pretzels. Yummy! I had not intended on sharing my Combos, but after dropping one on the ground and seeing how fast it was grabbed by a squirrel I couldn't help but share more with them.

Got some ship watching in, too. There sure was a lot of ship traffic today! I've got a nice Canon digital camera, one of those 5-in-one cameras, does just about everything. Then last night Married Son gave me a digital camera he found while on a salvage run yesterday. It works perfectly. Looks like a mini version of a hand-held camcorder. It's also a 5-in-one, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to access the other four features yet. Between the two cameras I managed to get a few digital movies and lots of digital pictures of ships and squirrels. Yup, the typical Port Huron pics, squirrels and ships. I'll document the ships I saw in my Freighter Watchers Guide later.

I wish I had had the video running when one young squirrel was playing ... actually there were about a dozen young squirrels, but this one in particular either wasn't too bright, or was the class clown. I'm not sure which. Two red squirrels, the rest black ... it was one of the reds who was silly. He'd come up to me, but not too close, and just beg for another pretzel. If he didn't get his way immediately he started chattering and running in tight circles at my feet. He got an itch at one point and as he's scratching he fell over. He laid there on his back, still scratching for a good minute or more, looking like he'd fully intended to fall over. Funny as heck.

As hot as it was at home (82*) in Port Huron it was a good ten degrees cooler. And when the sun was behind clouds, I actually had goose bumps! I love it!!

About seven hours after I'd gotten there, I decided it was time to head home. Nice leisurely drive. I get home after the sun had set. Barely in the door Single Son is asking me what I had for dinner (his hint he's hungry and wants me to get his dinner). I told him a deli sandwich and asked what he had. He sure hates when I don't take his hints. But dammit, he's 30, he can fix his own dinner. He ended up making omelets for himself and Married Son.

As I'm putting my things from today away, I see a toy truck that Grandson hadn't put away. "Oh, gee. You got me a fire truck to play with. Thanks" I say to him. "No Gramma L, that's my truck." "But it's on my shelf. If it's yours it needs to go in the toy box in your room." "That's okay Gramma L, it can stay there and we can share it."

So much for getting him to put his toys away.

It's now midnight. DIL is still at work. Grandson is in bed, but wouldn't go to sleep without Daddy laying down with him. Married Son fell asleep trying to get Grandson to sleep. Cute!! Single Son is in his room.

And Gramma L is enjoying a few minutes quiet before DIL comes home.

Two entries in one day!! Oh oh, she must be angry!

Ya, you could say that ...

I had a lovely nap. Slept way too long, but it felt oh, so good!! As I'm walking down the stairs after my nap I see a huge red bedsheet looking thing in my front yard. Ok, that's not really odd, after all Married Son is in the recycling business now and often has a trailer full of old useless appliances at the end of the night. He does take them to the recycle center early the following day ... so I don't bitch and nag about the trailers.

Thinking he's got another find of refrigerators or stoves I go about my business.

Only ... it's not a load of fridges or stoves. It's a freaking GIANT TV under the red bedsheet he uses to keep his treasures clean. And I mean giant. Gotta be a good 70 or more inch screen. Okay, my house is small. And I mean small. Where the devil does he think this is gonna go?

So I ask ...

Their bedroom. Um, I don't think so. They already have a king sized mattress, dresser, book shelves and god only knows what else in there. And they're going to put this monster where?

Obviously my next question was "and how much did that cost?" "Free Mom, zip, nadda, zilch"

My experience with free means *broken*, *useless*. Why else would someone give away a giant screen tv set (in a huge black cabinet no less). Because it didn't work for them ... or it's stolen, that's why. He says it has conversion problems, you know, analog to digital.

It's sitting in the middle of my just cleaned (yesterday) living room. Single Son talked him into it being the "family" tv. So out goes my old analog tv that we only use for gaming or movies and my cabinet. I won't miss the ancient telly one bit but I will miss that cabinet.

He has until Friday (more than ample time in my book) to get it working AND situated where my old entertainment center was.

Or I post "Free Big Screen TV. You pick up. Bring two strong friends" on craigslist.

Why do I get the feeling I am not going to want to return from Port Huron tomorrow evening?

My Ears Hurt!

Really! They hurt!

It didn't stay quiet around here for long after last night's blog entry. And of course, they came in noisy as all get-out.

Grandson wanted to watch a movie, DIL was tired so she said he could watch the tv in the bedroom while she read a little and fell asleep. That just left Married Son and me in the living area, and he was really into whatever he was doing on the computer.

I was at the kitchen counter, my ears literally throbbing from the five minutes of ear shattering loud followed by almost deafening silence.

I commented to Married Son that my ears hurt. Without having told him why they hurt, he comments "welcome to my world Mom. About ten minutes is about all I can handle of her noise levels before I'm ready to run away. Why do you think I work so much?"

He admitted that occasionally he feels like sticking his fingers in his ears, not to block out the noise, but to see if his ears are actually bleeding! I know the feeling! Really!

So, today he's out working ... DIL is at work ... and Grandson was taken to Nani's house for the evening. Yay!

Peace and quiet. Just Single Son and me. He's doing some paperwork for his work on his laptop in his bedroom. He only surfaces for a cuppa every now and then.

But when he does surface, he takes great pride in his stealth abilities and sneaks up on me ... seeing how high I can jump. Naturally, I swear at him for doing this multiple times a day. I really need to find another chair to sit in, one that faces the entrance to the room.

Last night, after all was finally quiet, DIL and Grandson were asleep Single Son sneaks up behind me. I don't catch that Married Son was looking at him, suppressing a giggle. Single Son had his police issue whistle and blew it only a foot or so from my ear.

Damn, those things are LOUD! I about hit the ceiling and damn near biffed my head on the dining room table on the way back down.

And my darling boys? They're laughing to the point of hysterics about my reaction.

When are they too old to ground? Banish them to their rooms? No tv. No computers.

After that, Single Son hung out with Married Son, working on some computer issue on Married Son's computer. I waited patiently.

Very patiently.

Deciding to do the dishes about an hour later, I ran the water ... and proceeded to sneak the big skillet and a large sauce pan from the cupboard. Sneaking up on Single Son I did the pot clanging bit to him. He damn near jumped out of his skin. Paybacks!! Sweet!

He didn't think it was too funny. Married Son did, he about fell out of his chair for a second time last night ...

Tomorrow can't come fast enough. I'm taking a trip to Port Huron alone. Me, myself and I. My excuse to go is that genealogy research I'm doing for my cousin. I could do it online, but I need a day away. In a quiet library. Maybe the genealogy or historical society while I'm there, if there's time. And definitely a trip to my favorite park, to ship watch and feed both me and the squirrels. No, not off the same plate. Hopefully.

Then Thursday Grandson's Poppa is taking him for four blessed days of camping. My only regret is that he's not taking his daughter, too.

For now ... I'm enjoying the day at home almost alone. Quiet. Contemplating a nap after I do the sink that's full of dishes I didn't use.

Shrimp Ramen Noodles

Description:
An easy and fast ramen noodle dish.

Ingredients:
One pkg Shrimp Ramen noodles
Six jumbo shrimp, cut into fine pieces.

Directions:
Cook ramen noodles until tender. Meanwhile, cut shrimp into fine pieces. Drain ramen noodles well. In serving bowl add seasoning packet, one tablespoon mayo, soy sauce. Mix well. Add shrimp pieces. Stir well. Add noodles, stir once again. Can be eaten warm or chilled. Delish!

A few quiet days

It's been a few days of peace and quiet, for the most part. Ya, when they come home it's noisy as hell, but believe me, I've learned a long time ago to appreciate those quiet moments.

Friday they went out. Saturday they went out. Sunday they went out. For a good part, if not most of those days, they were gone.

They're gone right now. Don't know where. Don't care. It's quiet. That's all I want. Really.

I like when they do that. Don't care where they go, so long as they GO. Now, don't get me wrong I love my kid and his family but geesh, ya know ... they sure are a loud bunch.

Last night, however, things came to a head before they went out for a second time that day, Seems they thought I'd be a free babysitter. Um, nope. You live here, let him go to his Nani's house for a visit. And I told them so. Married Son was a little upset, "but Mom you said you would babysit when the kid was old enough he could hold a hamburger and flush the toilet. He does both rather well."

In other words, he has to feed himself and be potty trained.

Okay, I said that a long time ago. My mother used to say it, too, when my kids were younger. However ... the hamburger/toilet rule does not include grandchildren who actually RESIDE under my roof.

Maybe I should have clarified that in the beginning?

So, they end up taking Grandson with them to the drive-in movie. Well geesh ... a freaking drive-in ... double feature at that. So, let him fall asleep in the back seat of the truck for pete's sake.

I never in all the years I raised my kids pawned my kids off on my folks, or my exes folks (either ex). The kids went where I went. Very few exceptions. It's just the way we raised our kids just thirty short years ago.

Alien is bad for this, too. Only, Butterball is a long way from holding a hamburger and flushing a toilet. She knows my rules, but she keeps trying.

Then again, the only time I hear from Alien is if she needs something ... babysitting, a few dollars for gas or pop ... or money for formula for Butterball. I say no almost all the time. Except when Butterball needs formula. Then she meets me at the grocery store, where I purchase said formula. I'm not giving her a dime only to have Loser buy a pack of cigarettes instead. Nope, I know better.

Oh, back to DIL. Today she's just sitting at the kitchen table reading while Grandson is eating his breakfast of pizza rolls. Yes, pizza rolls. He's not eating much, seems more intent on feeding my cat, Spot. Poor Spot. He hates pizza rolls, but loves the attention he gets from Grandson. DIL has her face in a book the entire time, only surfacing long enough to yell at the cat for sitting on the chair with Grandson and at the kid for not eating.

Can't even enjoy a quiet morning. Thankfully her cell rang. It was Married Son telling about GraveDigger, the famous monster truck being in town. The driver was at some store across town and was letting people see the truck. Grandson loves Monster Trucks, so they decided to head the twenty or so miles to see Grave Digger. Yay! Grandma gets quiet time after all! They scamper to get ready. DIL says "Son we'll go as soon as I do our dishes".

I about fainted.

Only ... to her doing the dishes was to put them in the sink. Let 'em soak for a day or two, while they pile up.

Hell no.

After lunch I did their dishes as well as mine. She's been asking lately WHY I do her dishes, too. I told her because dishes left out attract both fruitflies and houseflies and the only way to keep ahead of that game is to be diligent about the freaking dishes. Ya, it's true. Not to mention I have grown to hate a sink full of dirty dishes. At least she's noticing and has actually said something about it. I'm sure when they get home she'll do the same "I was going to do those tonight" routine. I'm pretty sure she's just saying this crap to shut me up. LOL.

I didn't fall of the turnip truck yesterday, ya know?

Speaking of yesterday, LOL ... had our monthly Star Trek meeting up at our favorite chinese place. One of the members, a guy I'll call Chicken (my ringtone for him is a chicken brawking, don't ask why!) has been asking me out for a while now. A French Restuarant that he frequents, he loves the place. But, everytime he asks, I'm unable to get there for one reason or the other. So, Chicken insists that he's paying for my dinner at the meeting. I'm not hungry, so I only order two egg rolls and my usual diet coke, no ice add a lemon wedge ... total of $4.25, I'm a cheap date what can I say. Ended up that Chicken gave me half his tofu and orange glaze dinner (the portions are huge at this place).

My one and only previous experience with tofu was not a good one. However, the way they prepared it, I love it!! I'm definitely going to have to order it in the future.

And no, there's NO romance in my future. Not with Chicken. He's a good guy, a good friend, but nothing more. Really.

Friday and all's quiet.

Quiet, that peaceful time when DIL is gone. Married Son and Grandson, too. Single Son and I are enjoying the quiet. Almost too quiet, the ringing in my ears is all I hear besides the a/c. And Single Son goes to work in a few short hours, so I'll have the house all to myself.

The cats are out of hiding. All is normal. At least for today and most of tomorrow. Gotta love when the Monster Truck Rally is in town. They love the Rally. I do too, but only because I know they will be there and I won't. Saturday is the zoo with a bunch of their friends. Yay.

I thought I had made progress with the dish issue. I decided I'd let her see me do the dishes ... right after a family meal. DIL had cooked lemon chicken and spicy taters. Good food, she really can cook when she puts her mind to it. The deal was, she cooked. I cleaned up. Almost as soon as we'd finished eating, I got up and gathered all the dishes. Grandson helped me clear the table even. Grandson pulled a chair up to the sink to help me. Even he said, "Gee Gramma L, it sure is easy to clean the dishes tonight". Oh, Lordy!! My chance to throw a comment "in the air" so to speak. Hoped it landed on DIL. "It is, Honey. Because the food that's left on the plates doesn't have time to get hard." I swear I heard a grunt out of DIL.

In one ear, out the other and built up speed along that empty space on it's journey between her ears.

Today just before they're getting ready to leave for their day of Monster Trucking, she is at the sink, running the water. I'm thinking 'good, some of those comments to Grandson must have found some gray matter to attach itself to ... when she says "Mom there's knives in the sink. Be careful"

Dammit. You'd think that spending about ten minutes getting the water temperature just right and adding just the right amount of dish soap would have meant that she was actually going to spend three minutes washing the darned dishes. I should have known better.

I'm beginning to think that FlyLady isn't going to fly around her. What I need is a Kitchen Fairy with a bad attitude that is willing to cast a spell on DIL. Hmmm, what would be a good spell? I know ... her car won't start until she's done the dishes or cleaned up after herself. Or ... internet won't work on her computer until ... or her cell won't ring until ... or ... or ...

And yes, I will wash what she left in the sink. Right after I eat the leftovers from last night's dinner.

But first, I have to run to the store before Single Son has to go to work. For cost savings we're sharing a car right now. It works good, but I have to make sure I plan around his schedule.

Then it's home to peace and quiet. Work a little more on my sanctuary and then who knows? Maybe a little computer time? Frontierville and Farmville perhaps? Entering data into my genealogy program?

One of those days ...

My day started out okay. Woke up, had a nice leisurely shower and breakfast, then got ready to have lunch with some college friends of mine. Well, that was after feeding Grandson his breakfast and watching him because DIL slept in again.

Lunch was great. We went to Sagebrush Cantina in Lake Orion. Anyone in the area ... it's a great place to eat. I so needed a break from home. My friend, G, wasn't too bad with trying to save my soul today. I guess she finally figured out that ya just can't push religion down my throat. J had to leave early, once again work called her back from her long lunch. J is only 19 and works in the County Crime Lab. How cool is that? And K, well, she's leaving to go away to college in the fall. She's also 19 and scared to death about going away to college. I guess it was our last hurrah for a while with the four of us. Ah well. It really was an enjoyable lunch. I had a "wet" burrito (drowned in salsa and  cheese sauce) and mexi-skins (mexican potato skins). Delish!!  Ate way too much, even brought half of it home for dinner.

Got home to find that DIL is working. I barely got in the door to be greeted ... tackled ...  by Grandson. Married Son was sleeping this time. I knew he'd worked all night, so I would give him a few hours to sleep before I woke him up. Until Grandson got on my final nerve that is. That's when I busted into their bedroom like I'd been shot out of a cannon, and raised the noise level considerably until his hindass, I mean highness, finally woke up.

I've decided I'm really not as kid friendly as I used to be. Don't get me wrong, I love my Grandson, but ... the kid irritates me by doing things that I'm pretty sure I would ignore when my kids did the same. I wish I could block it out like in the old days. I've lost that ability in my old age it seems. And this kid just doesn't want to take no for an answer. Something I never had problems with my kids over, they knew if no was the answer to drop it. Not this child. I think he learned today that I won't play the No Game.

Grandson enjoys tormenting my cat, Spot, a bit too much, too. Spot, well, he's too stupid to move away, so he sits there and takes it. He hasn't scratched, bit or even hissed yet ... why I don't know. I've hissed a few times. I swear.

But at least his daddy is up now. And of course, he's being an angel. He doesn't get away with jacksquat when Daddy's around.

Ya, I know. He's testing me to see how far he can get. Won't happen. I have no qualms about being strict with someone else's kid. Especially when they live under my roof and seem to think I'm a free babysitter so they can nap. Ha.

So now Grandson thinks I'm a mean ol' Gramma. Good ... next time I get dumped with watching him so his mom or dad can nap he won't try to pull the crap he tried today.

Tomorrow I work on my room ... my sanctuary. My little part of the world where no one but me is allowed. Make it a little more of a "living" space and not so much a sleeping place. Somewhere I can go and lock the door ... get some peace and quiet. I hate the thought of hiding in my room - in MY house - but I really need a place to go when that last nerve has been tested.

Waste Not Want Not ...

Oy! Talk about someone who wastes a lot of everything!! And I bet ya'll know who I'm talking about. Yup, the DIL.

I mentioned in a comment on my last blog that she used one steel wool pad to wash out the skillet she used for dinner and then proceeded to throw it away. It was still good!! Good enough to do some scrubbing of the stove top after she made a mess of it. Did she clean it up? Of course she did, but she used a second steel wool pad and proceeded to throw it away afterwards.

Okay, so my Irish genes are showing. Use it 'til it's useless. What's so hard to understand?

And just to add insult to the wasteful injury ... I'm emptying ashtrays last night. I never put them straight in the garbage (you read about fires all the time from smoldering ciggies) ... I dig into the garbage and pull out one of the plastic trays from the frozen chinese she made for their dinner last night to put the cig butts in so I can add water to make sure they're good and extinguished only to discover the tray is A THIRD FULL of food yet! Someone was too lazy to remove all the plastic wrap from the microwavable bowl to spoon the remainder of the food onto their plates.

Oh, and she's taken to using plastic utensils and paper plates for meals. Forget we have perfectly good dishes and utensils but ... wait ... those need to be ... gasp ... washed!!

We've gone from kitchen sized trash bag and a half a week to THREE large trash bags a week in garbage!!

The above were only two of the many examples I see on a daily basis. Surely my ancestors are turning in their graves with the waste she makes.

However, she lets the garbage go to overflowing when it's her turn to do the garbage detail, claims she's saving on plastic garbage bags.

What am I missing here?

I'm really trying to do the Fly Lady thing AND be more environmentally alert these days. I don't buy chemicals to clean anymore, not since I re-discovered the cleaning power of good ol' fashioned vinegar. But now the chemicals are coming back into the house thanks to DIL. Grrrrrrr ... and remember I am allergic to most cleaning chemicals. She's agreed to use them only on Wednesdays when I'm running errands for my folks, since I can't be around even the fumes for hours after she cleans. Then I still have to wipe down certain surfaces with vinegar (to remove chemical residue) before I use the bathroom or sit down to the kitchen table.

You'd think she'd have remembered all the issues I had with cleaning chemicals when they lived here the last time. Ha. Of course not.

I keep telling myself it's only been about a week. That it'll take time to adjust once again.

If not, well, I continue to be psycho mother in law from hell. It's a job I'm getting real good at. And I actually have a Mother In Law's license!! Really!

What I don't understand, she'll take "my side" when I was nagging Married Son about doing something I've been after him since Friday to take care of. She was standing right by my side, telling him that "look, if you'd do it Mom wouldn't have to nag and we could all get along in peace."

It took every ounce of strength I had to not give her "the look" and say ... practice what you preach, baby.

But maybe, for her, there is hope. She had to work early this morning and actually did all of the dishes from last night before she left. She even left me a "shiny sink" that even Fly Lady would be proud of.

Grandson, on the other hand, is a huge little helper. He absolutely loves doing dishes, sweeping, vacuuming, feeding the cats, and taking out the garbage. A momma's dream child, and Gramma's best boy!! Now if I could just get him to pick up his toys when he's done with them. But we're working on that. He'll make a good Fly Lady ... um, Fly Lad ... soon enough.

Baby steps ... baby steps. I'm sure we'll get to that cooperative place eventually.

In the meantime, enjoy the blogs.

 

The saga continues ...

I really need to write a book. Oh wait, I blog. Isn't that the same?

Yesterday I had to take my dad to the hospital to get his stint removed. What a long day it ended up being. Once the procedure started (after a few hour delay) it went rather quickly. Being a smoker, we were banished to off hospital campus. Had to cross a busy six lane divided highway (three lanes each direction, with a median in the middle), to the center median to smoke. Got to really take a good look at some of the old buildings in the area. Beautiful architecture!! Met some crazy people, too. And I do mean crazy. Ya, crazy as I am, they made me look like a normal well adjusted person. Gotta love what you see downtown! LOL.

Got home to find that DIL hadn't done much. Dishes were in the sink, so much for the CAYG (clean as you go) talk we had the other day. "Mom, I'll get them. Promise." Ummmm, okay. But that's only part of my complaints. Doesn't she understand it's easy to clean them before crap cakes on 'em? No having to scrape and soak. Doih. And this morning her dishes still sit there. Not the way I'd want to start my day. Nope, not the way I want my day to start ... having to look at someones dirty dishes still waiting from the night before. I'm thinking I may have to smack her upside the head with the dirty skillet she left on the stove overnight.

So, I've been doing some genealogy research for a cousin of mine and her husband that I'll call Aunt or Uncle "Normal". Found out some real neat stuff ... ship captains, shipwrecks ... high sea adventures - okay more like Great Lakes adventures, but still very dangerous and often tragic stories. Some of my knowledge of early shipwrecks has come in handy already. I'm going to have to take a trip to my favorite town of Port Huron to research some of these things further!

Knowing that I have to take a day trip, Aunt Normal called to ask my address. She's sending me a check to cover gas and meals. Cool, every little bit helps. What's hysterical about this whole thing is that after I graduated they sent me a nice card, but no check. I wasn't upset, but boy was my mom peeved! "All the checks I've sent their two kids through the years, she could have returned the favor." Geesh Mom ... give it a rest. Please. And Mom's a bit upset I've spent hours researching their relatives. I look at it this way ... we're family. So they didn't send a graduation gift. Big freaking deal. Gotta love those family fights, especially between two elderly cousins ... talk about the ties that bind and gag! LOL.

Aunt Normal also mentioned that they both think I have a real knack for this stuff. She suggested I might even want to do this for pay. Good idea! Especially since every other job offer I've had has fallen through. Anyway ... researching what it'd take to become a certified genealogy researcher will involve MORE classes, assembling a portfolio of "case studies" and presenting them before a panel of judges to see if I qualify for a five year certificate. Won't happen overnight, obviously,but I'm looking into pursuing this. I love uncovering family histories. A "picture" of what our ancestors, the common "joe" or "jane", did to survive on a day to day basis really intrigues me.

So, it's food for thought.

In the meantime, between cleaning and organizing a la Fly Lady I'm spending my weekend going over shipwreck records. See what I can find out about three different shipwrecks captained by three of their ancestors. None of which survived, by the way.

Oh, and I just may end  up smacking a certain DIL upside the head if these dishes aren't done before she leaves for work today.

Un-empty Nest Day Two ...

Not even a full 24 hours later ... Oh, and thanks Amy ... blog material you want, blog material you get ...

Lunch finds DIL making creamy noodles for Married Son. The pot over-boils, flooding the burner with hot boiling milk. I *thought* she had cleaned the spill up.

Thought.

Five hours later ... DILs at work, their lunch dishes having been washed by moi. Guess I forgot to tell her washing dishes means clearing the table immediately after eating, putting dishes in sink (which she did, but she ignored the next steps), squirting dish soap in sink, running the water as hot as you can handle to fill the dish-tub, then taking the dish scrubby and WASHING the freaking things within a few minutes after having consumed the meal.

Does this make sense? Do you let your sink fill up with dirties? Personally, I follow the "clean as you go" mentality. Use pot(s), pile food into serving dish or on plate, and wash pot(s) immediately. No letting them soak while I enjoy the meal. Seems food tastes better to me knowing half the clean-up is already done!! I wash dishes within minutes of finishing the meal. Then I can sit, relax and let my food digest.

So ... back to the milk. Single Son is making his dinner. He's got the pan on the burner, burner on HIGH ... and voila! Poof!! Flames! I forgot how fast dried spilled over milk can catch fire.

And all this time, Grandson is under foot! You should have seen how fast he moved when the burner burst into flame. In the opposite direction of course, but boy, did he get out of the way! And his Daddy slept through all this fun.

I made Married Son get up before the smoke cleared ... it was time to feed the kid anyway.

Did I mention they may live here again, BUT I raised my kids. I'm not feeding, clothing, or entertaining someone else's child so they can nap the day away. Or PAY me compensation. I hear babysitters make a pretty penny these days. And I ain't cheap!

So Married Son is all grumpy now. Awwww, let me tune my violin. Play you a sad song. And while I'm serenading you with my song, get your ass off the computer and CLEAN up the book-bag, boxes and other crap you abandoned in the living areas!!

I need to have the FlyLady talk with my son and Grandson next I see.

Flylady? Flying ... yeah. I'll settle for a flutter.

And to think I turned down a dinner with a male friend at a French restaurant tonight. I would have missed all this fun!

Empty Nest?

Not here, not anytime soon.

Today is the day I dreaded ... Married Son, DIL and Grandson finally have moved back in. Chaos and confusion are back. Loudness is back. Blogging material. Definitely blogging material.

So instead of unpacking and settling in, the hallway is packed with boxes and laundry baskets full of their clothing. Barely enough of a path to reach the bathroom.

And where is DIL?? She set up her computer five minutes after getting here and has been goofing around on facebook for two hours now. And I'm sure she'll be up half the night once she's finally ready to unpack.

Ah ... hold on for dear life, I have a feeling it's gonna be one long summer.

July 4th, 2010

playing bean bag toss

Police Chief's picnic and Village of Lake Orion Fireworks

Fourth of July

Yesterday was the big annual Lake Orion (pronounced OR-ee-un) fireworks. No street fair as in past years, but we had fun all the same.

The evening started with the Chief's picnic. Lots of good food, great conversation with cops and their family and plenty of activities for the kiddies.

Single Son had to work the event. Married Son and Grandson and I got to hang out for the day. DIL met up with us later.

I had to laugh at Grandson. The little flirt. He made friends with a little girl about his age. They were pretty much inseparable - well that is until her Daddy (cop) left with her. Poor Grandson. Nothing left for him to do except flirt with the older girls (ages eight to about thirteen). Oy, poor Married Son is gonna have his hands full with this one once school starts in September. And .... mean ol' grandma here is thinking "better him than me" ... or "paybacks are a bitch". Take your pick.

And of course, her daddy took her away before I could get a picture of them together. Oh, I have plenty of individual pictures of them. Grandson asked me if he could borrow my camera. He then wandered off to the other side of the Chiefs huge yard and between him and his little sweetie, the both snapped off a lot of pics of each other.

Finally it was off to the park for fireworks. I hear from different sources that it's the second biggest fireworks in Michigan outside of the Detroit/Windsor Freedom Festival fireworks. I believe it, too!! And they were great!! I was able to film the finale, with the fireworks reflecting off the lake, it's just beautiful. Not to toot my own horn, lol, but searching youtube for others who had filmed the fireworks, I have to say mine are about the best I've seen. Something about the fireworks being reflected off the water. Ya know?

Great show. And the traffic was surprisingly manageable afterwards. In years past three hours drive time wasn't unusual (normally it only takes us half an hour to make the same drive). This year, with Married Son driving we were home in about 45 minutes.

The Fourth is also my dad's 79th birthday. When I called to wish Dad a happy birthday and find out the day's plans, Mom had answered the phone. She fills me in that she's not talking to Dad today. I'm not sure what he said to tick her off, but I bet it was a doozey of a cut-down. He's a little too good at those these days. My reaction is to counter his comments, but Mom's not as gutsy as I am. She needs to learn how, or lose her sanity for sure. Anyway ... she's pissed off and says that she's cancelled his birthday plans. Good grief. I'm sure I'll get a call tomorrow to meet them at their favorite restaurant for a birthday dinner.

She gives the phone to Dad. I wish him a happy birthday and we talk about stuff in general. He never once indicated he's in the dog house.

Old farts. God bless 'em both. But at the same time it makes me glad that I'm single. I don't think I could handle what Mom does on a daily basis.

In other news, I just tonight found out I'm going to be a gramma yet again. Care to fathom a guess as to who is pregnant? If you guessed Alien you would be right. And after only having a baby seven months ago. Her story is that the birth control pill failed her. Don't know ... could be. Could be she quit taking it. Seems the Idiot has her convinced they want a large family. The number eight keeps coming up in conversation. Eight kids? Good grief. Be real. This day and age ... unless you're Kate Gosselin or Octomom ... or some other publicity hungry momma, you DO NOT NEED to bring eight kids into this world. Especially when the sperm donor can't hold a job because of his criminal past.

So ... back to the 4th. Here's the link for my Lake Orion Fireworks Finale video. It's only seven minutes in length. The finale starts at about the minute and a half marker. It's the highlighted video, can't miss it.

http://www.youtube.com/user/LCM1219